


April's Air

by bunnyfication



Category: Hakuouki
Genre: Childbirth, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:51:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7662007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnyfication/pseuds/bunnyfication
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chizuru is giving birth to her and Heisuke's first child. Everyone is nervous (except Doctor Sen).</p>
            </blockquote>





	April's Air

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Some sort of slight AU, perhaps SSL where Heisuke is dealing with Chizuru’s first birth and their young marriage. 
> 
> a.n.: I've never played Sweet School Life so I tried to read up on stuff, but this is post-canon anyway. I also liked to think of Chizuru being more or less good friends with everyone in the main cast, so there is a bit of that.  
> Happy holidays to funjshi, hope you enjoy the story. : )
> 
> a.n II: Edited quite a lot from the original post on tumblr because whoo boy was it needed...

Prompt: Some sort of slight AU, perhaps SSL where Heisuke is dealing with Chizuru’s first birth and their young marriage.  
Warnings: Childbirth (not with a lot of description, but still), sap.  
A.n.: I've never played Sweet School Life so I tried to read up on stuff, but this is also past canon. I also liked to think of Chizuru being more or less good friends with everyone in the main cast, so there is a bit of that. Lenght: 1678 words. 

Happy holidays to funjshi, hope you enjoy the story. : )

 

The call came in the middle of the day, when Heisuke was still at work. 

He was still staring at the phone in his shaking hands as Hijikata peered out from the classroom, frowning at him. Perhaps he'd been a bit loud? 

”It's-- they called-- the baby...!” 

He managed to explain, and the frown disappeared to make way for a look of instant determination. 

”I'll tell Kondou and get my car,” Hijikata said, steel in his voice. 

They set off with Kondou's blessing (”I remember when my wife had our first, I was so nervous I almost fainted!”) in Hijikata's trusty little car to brave the afternoon traffic. Heisuke could not stay still, drumming his hands against his knees. 

”It wasn't supposed to be until in two weeks... do you think that's too early? I mean, she said the nurse said they can't say an exact time but still, two weeks?” he babbled. 

Hijikata just grunted and then pressed viciously on the car horn as a car ahead of them dawdles at the green light. 

”Drive, you bastard!” he muttered under his breath. 

The drive seemed interminable, but they reach the hospital eventually. Heisuke jumped out before it even stopped moving. 

He burst into the foyer of the maternity ward, causing a few waiting patients to jump at his abrupt entrance and turn to glare at him. He barely noticed.

”Chizuru Toudou?! She's here to deliver a baby?” he asked a startled looking nurse at the counter. At his question, she nodded almost immediately, smiling reassuringly. 

”She's with Doctor Sen. Just wait here a moment.”

She got up, far too slowly as far as Heisuke was concerned, and went through a glass door at her right. Heisuke peered after her anxiously, until the receptionist returned with Doctor Sen in tow. 

”It's early right? Is everything allright?!” Heisuke asked her the moment Sen stepped out. 

She frowned minutely, and then gave him a small smile.

”Toudou, breathe,” Sen told him, her voice gentle but firm. ”Two weeks is a bit early, yes, but not by much. And we are prepared to deal with any problems that might occur,” she continued. 

He opened his mouth to ask more question, but Sen shook her head minutely and interrupted him.

”Heisuke. I'll take you to her now. Just follow me.” 

Her voice was even and kind, and it settled his nerves slightly. Chizuru was in good hands, he knew that. But he still worried.

He could only nod, and she took him past the door. They walked along the hallway until they came to a door. There Sen stopped and turned to him again, her face serious.

”Do you still want to attend the birth?” she asked.

”Yes! Of course!” Heisuke answered immediately, and Sen nodded. 

”Just be prepared it could be tough, for Chizuru,” she warned him. ”You'll need to stay calm for her, whatever happens. Can you do that?” 

Heisuke took a deep breath, and then nodded. 

”Yes,” he replied determinately. 

Sen smiled again, the corners of her eyes crinkling. 

”Good. She'll be glad to have you there.”

She gave him some further instructions that he could only half concentrate on, before finally letting him in. 

In the room, he found Chizuru, who looked up at him with visible relief from here she was sitting on the side of a bed. 

”Heisuke! You're here already... what about your work?” she asked him as he hurried over to take her hand. ”You didn't have to hurry so much, it's barely even started and might be a while yet...” 

Heisuke shook his head.

”The school can do without a maintenance worker for half a day, this is more important.” 

Chizuru smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. 

”I'm glad,” she said, quietly, as if slightly ashamed to admit it. Then she gasped and grimaced, bending over her stomach. 

”Contraction?” Heisuke asked, concerned, and Chizuru nodded, her teeth still grit together. 

They'd gone to classes together, to prepare for this, but it... really wasn't the same as the real thing after all. He'd known that on some level, he supposed. This was still terrifying. 

It was a few more hours before they moved to another room for the actual birth. Sen and the nurse had a brief conversation about putting up a screen. In the end Sen waved that away after confirming with Chizuru whether she wanted one. 

”It'd just be in the way,” she said cheerfully when Chizuru shook her head after a moment's hesitation. 

The birth seemed to take forever, and it was terrifying to see Chizuru in so much pain for so long.

Doctor Sen said she could scream if she needed to, that the baby wouldn't remember it. However, Chizuru was determined not to. Instead she grasped Heisuke's hand hard enough to grind the bones together. He only noticed afterwards.

Through it all, Doctor Sen stayed calm and encouraging, telling them that the equipment showed the baby was doing fine. 

And then, finally, there was a wet, tentative cry, causing Chizuru to slump and let out a small cry of her own. She closed her eyes, her lashes wet against flushed and blotchy cheeks, and Heisuke peered anxiously from her to the bundle Doctor Sen and the nurse were handling. 

”Chizuru?” he whispered, suddenly terrified she was hurt, that it had been too much for her...

Chizuru opened her eyes and looked toward him tiredly, a smile barely tugging at her lips. She patted at his hand, which was aching from the hold she'd had on it before. 

Sen left the child in the nurse's care while she attended to the afterbirth. Once again, the sight of blood and... other things, forced Heisuke to look away. 

He'd never thought he was squemish about blood. Apparently he'd been wrong, at least when it was someone he loved. 

Afterwards, Sen turned over to the nurse and asked her to show the baby to Chizuru and Heisuke. Chizuru, despite her exhaustion, had already been craning over trying to catch glimpses of it. 

”You have a daughter,” Sen told them with a smile, as they looked at baby in mute wonder.

”She's so small...” Heisuke whispered.

”Everything is in order though. We checked thoroughly,” Sen said confidently. 

Chizuru blinked, some more tears leaking out. 

”Thank you, Hime...” she whispered, before kissing the child's forehead, causing the small face to wrinkle further. Chizuru giggled. ”She looks just like you,” she said, glancing mischievously at Heisuke. 

He just laughed, feeling both exhausted and giddy. 

”You're right,” Doctor Sen said drily, and then smiled softly at Chizuru. ”Just doing my job. And looking after my best friend. Who needs to rest now, I think.” 

As tired as she was, Chizuru still seemed reluctant to hand the baby over, looking over her one more time. 

Chizuru was wheeled over to a recovery room, and Heisuke was turned away at the door for some reason he didn't quite catch in his befuddled state.

Instead he wandered back the way he'd come to the waiting room. 

There, he found Hijikata and unexpectedly Saitou as well. 

Hijikata immediately grasped him and asked a rapid series of questions. Heisuke stared at him in confusion and Saitou looked blank behind Hijikata. 

”Uh... she's fine? The baby too. It's a girl,” Heisuke managed to answer in the end, which seemed to satisfy Hijikata, as he released him and nodded seriously.

”Good,” he said gruffly, calm as if the previous outburst had never happened.

Now he thought about it, Heisuke had completely forgotten that Hijikata had driven him over, and might have wanted to know what was happening with Chizuru... ah well. Chizuru had been more important, anyway.

He gave a slightly puzzled glance at Saitou.

”I heard,” he said shortly, not specifying from who or how. Heisuke shrugged that away mentally. ”She's fine, though?” he asked, with a frown.

”Yes,” Heisuke replied again. 

Some barely there tension went out of Saitou's shoulders.

”Good,” he said quietly. 

*

It was a few days before Chizuru and the baby were allowed visitors apart from immediate family. Not very surprisingly, there were several there at the earliest possibility. 

When Heisuke arrived, he found Saitou already there, talking quietly with Chizuru. Well, mostly listening to her talk and nodding occasionally, but that seemed to be his preferred way of communication anyway. Chizuru looked happy to talk to him, anyway. And Heisuke supposed Saitou did too, though he'd never been good at reading him. 

The rest arrived more or less at the same time, and noisily. Kondou played the part of the parent of several children, full of advice to the point of being slightly annoying. 

Okita made a face and said he hoped the kid got prettier as she aged, which earned him several glares and Hijikata telling him to watch his mouth, goddammit. And that he'd seen Kondou's children too, newborn babies always looked like that!

Harada was eager to hold the baby, and then looked kind of wistful while doing it. Shinpachi was content to hover behind him. 

Harada eventually passed the child over to Hijikata who looked slightly panicked but did a decent job off it after some advice from Chizuru, and then stood for a long moment looking at the child with a particular serious face that meant he was touched but trying not to show it. 

Heisuke made them all leave a bit before visiting hours ended, so he had a chance to spend at least a few moments with just Chizuru and their daughter. 

He practically had to push Harada out of the room bodily. At least Shinpachi followed after him, even if he did tease Heisuke about wanting alone time with his wife. As if that was something to be embarrassed about!

Heisuke rolled his eyes and turned his back on the door, before smiling helplessly at Chizuru. 

”Finally!” he breathed out, and Chizuru laughed. 

”It wasn't so bad. I liked seeing everyone... and introducing little Ai,” she said. 

Heisuke mock-sighed.

”Poor child, with all these annoying uncles,” he muttered. 

Chizuru just beamed at him. Heisuke knew their friends were important to her, especially after what happened with her family.

He sat on the edge of the bed and put an arm around her, feeling protective suddenly. 

”You know I'll always be here, right? For you and Aiko.”  
Chizuru looked down at where Aiko was dozing against her chest, and then looked up at him, her eyes bright. 

”So will I,” she replied. ”And so will Sen, and everyone else, I hope. So she'll never be alone.”

Heisuke could only agree with that sentiment.

**Author's Note:**

> I never managed to write it in, but Saitou is a professional kendōka in this au an totes ditched a match to be at the hospital. :'3


End file.
